Volume 1

Aphasia and kindred disorders of speech / by Henry Head.

  • Henry Head
Date:
1926
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Aphasia and kindred disorders of speech / by Henry Head. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    544/576 (page 524)
    In the same way, when an aphasic is shown a common object, he can pick out its duplicate from amongst those on the table by relating the two similar perceptions. But, if two familiar objects are presented to him at the same time and he then attempts to choose those which corre¬ spond to them, he is liable to fail because he attempts to register what he has seen in some form of words. When, for instance, a normal person is shown a knife and a key, he tends to record the fact by saying the names to himself in order to reinforce his memory, whilst he searches for the two objects amongst those on the table. It is here that the aphasic tends to fail; for he cannot find or retain the suitable words he requires for this dual operation. The first method by which the use of symbols aids thinking and facilitates action is by obviating the necessity of trying several alterna¬ tives. It is no longer necessary to adopt the lengthy process of trial and error. Given a bottle and a number of corks, we may try them one by one until we find that which fits the opening. Or, if we have become expert by practice, we reject the majority of them as too large or too small, setting aside a few for systematic trial. But if we know the dia¬ meter of the neck of the bottle and each cork is marked with a number on the same scale of measurement, all necessity for trial is avoided and we at once select the cork which satisfies the situation. In the same way, if I am told to take the second turning to the right, I am precluded from choosing any one on my left hand and also the first on the right. But many aphasics, unable to comprehend or retain the exact terms of a command, fall back on the method of trial and error. Having taken a false turning, they look around to discover that the ob¬ jects actually in sight do not correspond with those they expected. They then cast back and explore other ways until, catching sight of some familiar landmark, they walk on confidently towards their goal. This return to a more primitive method is particularly evident during the tests with the alphabet. Given the twenty-six letters on separate blocks, the normal man looks them over and selects without trial the one which is required to make a direct sequence; A leads to the choice of B, B to C, and so on. Having placed a letter, for example M, in posi¬ tion, he formulates some symbol, verbal or visual, for N and fixes his attention on finding it; or his procedure may be even more direct. But the aphasic tries the most unlikely combinations one after the other until he discovers the particular letter which fits the sequence. Symbolic formulation also assures and amplifies the processes of thinking by enabling us to record the likeness or dissimilarity of two